Which disk imaging program?

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by besafe, Aug 12, 2007.

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  1. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    StorageCraft only needs to install a free trial version of FDISR and install SP in the primary snapshot and secondary snapshot and they will see the problem with their own eyes, engineer eyes. Maybe they can't handle the truth. :)
     
  2. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    Am I reading this correctly ? If I install SP on one machine I need to contact
    StorageCraft ( to have the serial number reset) if I want to change the program to another machine ? There is no deactivation procedure ?

    Activation is a pain at the best of times but there is no way I would want to risk
    anything like this going wrong.

    Erik you may be the "one so far" but I wonder how many others are not even willing to try the product if it has such a rigid activation policy ?
     
  3. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    If you have two computers you have to buy two licenses. So one license per computer.

    After paying SP you get a SERIAL NUMBER from StorageCraft and then you have to ACTIVATE SP and SP creates a Machine ID that is stored at StorageCraft.
    If you try to install the same SP on a second computer and you want to activate it, StorageCraft will compare the second Machine ID with the first Machine ID. Both Machine ID's won't match of course and that is considered as piracy by StorageCraft.
    For your second computer you will have to buy another license.
     
  4. Huupi

    Huupi Registered Member

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    This is completely normal and legal almost any vendor act this way,Adobe,MS ,just to name a few.With StorageCraft their inconsistency in their policy with regard to their recovery environment as opposed to windows install where an install is stricly on one to one,while you can use the recovery disk on as many systems as you like.I know their market are corporate users who are not concerned with once at a time backup, buying massive quantities of licenses to install on their rigs( you know where the profit come from )to make differentials and incrementals all the time,and in case of problems recovery time is then vastly diminished.So they make huge profit on this and take a minor loss where the home user use the recovery disk on two or three rigs,at least that's my reasoning but maybe i am wrong.
     
  5. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    I wasn't talking about using it on 2 computers at the same time but about using it on one computer and then uninstalling it to reinstall on a new computer.
    with Paperport www.nuance.com the procedure is simply to uninstall the program whilst connected to the internet. The uninstall process deactivates allowing the user to activate on another machine. Hardly asking too much ?
     
  6. grnxnm

    grnxnm Registered Member

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    LOL - Well I only know about the ones who complain. The issue really has to do with the way that we identify the machine. We do our best to identify it uniquely, but there are subtleties that can cause us to mistake different environments on the same machine as being a different machine. I'm not sure if we can alter this either as we had to consider virtual machines, etc, when we made this scheme, and prevention of piracy in such cases.

    @tradetime Any user who wants to sue us for having a strict activation policy can go ahead. The course of such a suit would be pretty straight forward. We'd likely simply refund them their money and that'd be the end of it. Better yet, just buy some other software. We have plenty of customers who don't mind the fact that our activation is strict.
     
  7. grnxnm

    grnxnm Registered Member

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    Yeah, I agree, which is why in version 3 we have added deactivation. :)
     
  8. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    Excellent - now if you could only allow one copy on a desktop and one on a laptop ............. Ok I'm being a bit greedy but I have a number of programs that
    work that way
     
  9. tradetime

    tradetime Registered Member

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    Who said anything about suing anyone for having a strict activation policy? Interesting, it would appear not only the software reads the same thing differently. As I said before, don't take it personally, it's not my fault the software can't work out it's being installed on the same computer, and unless you designed the activation program, it's not yours either'
     
  10. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    That's my situation.

    Rob
     
  11. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    I applaud your actions. Necessary to register a legtimate complaint as you have done to ever have any hope of having it addressed.
    Rob
     
  12. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Understand, that to the activation data base it is being installed twice on the same machine. That's the problem. I don't think any of the software I have that requires activation would pass that test.

    Some programs even have the ability to uninstall and deactivate itself. I always am careful with Paperport as it does this. But I'd bet it would fail to activate if I tried to install it in two snapshots.
     
  13. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Rob, grnxnm has addressed Erik's problem, and told him when he is ready to do a clean install let them know.

    Now if they told him to get lost, I'd agree with you, but given their respsonse I don't see an issue.

    I guess the reason I don't see it as an issue, is I use several high end business programs and they all work the same way, for the same reason.

    Pete
     
  14. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    Windows Xp requires activation and is certainly on each snapshot.
    Office requires activation.......

    Or are we talking about installing on different snapshots ? as opposed to installing to a snapshot and then making numerous copies ?
     
  15. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

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    That is correct, Erik actually reinstalled SP fresh on a second Snapshot, that is, a complete second reinstall; it was not copied from another Snapshot.

    Acadia
     
  16. LockBox

    LockBox Registered Member

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    Get Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.0 FREE!
    Courtesy of ComputerActive Magazine (UK)
    http://www.computeractive.co.uk/hdmanager8/index

    It says it expired in April, but the link is still working and they are still sending out free keys. It's called Paragon Hard Disk Manager (Special Edition) - it's the exact same thing as the standard HDM 8.0, it's only "special" because it is a promotion with ComputerActive.

    Scroll down the above page and click on the "Click here to register your product" and then fill in the online form. They instantly email you your registration key.

    Believe it or not, this saves you $80.00!!!!

    What a deal as Paragon makes GREAT products!
     
  17. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    True, but not really relevant to the issue at hand.
     
  18. grnxnm

    grnxnm Registered Member

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    @Gerard

    Nice! Thanks!
     
  19. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    I for one am a very patient man unlike the majority of the world which seems always in fast-forward.

    YES, it's always nice to have the latest (newest) creations in PC softs, especially if they can save us time + effort (+ money), but i'm one of those who has long practiced being content with what i have at the time, (especially when it's proven itself over time), and consider that somewhat as a personal cherished fortune.

    Shadow Protect V.3 as far as i been able to determine isn't even due for release untill August 21? Correct me if this is in error, so i've not got a handle yet on all the gripes about it to date.

    After the Official Release and the program does happen to consistently make for frustration, then maybe some of this early disappointment can be justified? I dunno. Just grabbing at straws here.

    If activation is going to be such a headache then theres always alternatives of course, so in my case i'll just wait this out and see if it takes months or whatever to rectify itself.

    If SP sells "SPEED" and "DEPENDABILITY" on the order of a Leapfrog FD-ISR then i'm all for that too. In fact like others, i would prefer if i was going to purchase it go for the IT version and leave the cheaper Desktop version to others, but then again, if it's cost outweighs the benefits then it's but a simple matter to dismiss it entirely untill BONUS SALES TIME!, which ALL softs offer at some point. Then again, i don't think the IT Pro version is even offered to Home/End users anyway right now, so that pretty much takes care of that idea on it's own. LoL
     
  20. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Easter

    1. The activation really isn't a headache. It's just like any activation, that you can only do once. If you install in a FDISR primary snapshot, no problem with copying to other snapshots. You just can't do more than one install. Not all that unusual. Consider how many people really wipe their drives and reinstall stuff. Percentage wise very few.

    2. For almost any non corporate user the IT edition is totally pointless. First the cost is $3500/year. The benefit to that cost is that it is a license that allows one IT person to use the program on any machine he is responsible for without installing it. So it's cheap for a big IT department but totally impractical for a home user. Desktop version works fine, and it's fast increment capability is amazing. I have it running on my primary business machine, and it takes an increment every 30 minutes during the day.
    The increments take on average 30-45 seconds and you never realize they are running.

    As to "Bonus Sales" Grnxnm can confirm, but if I were to bet, I'd say probably won't happen.

    Cheers,

    Pete
     
  21. grnxnm

    grnxnm Registered Member

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    I don't know of any plans for a super-sale on IT Edition. However I'm not really plugged into our sales program. I write the code and try to answer questions and take suggestions, but I don't really deal with the sales/marketing/business aspects of StorageCraft.
     
  22. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    Not a headache ? If an user wants to move SP from one snapshot to another snapshot, he can't do that anymore. That is a serious restriction and that was the cause of my activation problem.

    I didn't format/zero my harddisk.That is ANOTHER activation problem

    And you can't use copy/update always, certainly not when you have two total different snapshots or do I have to explain how FDISR works ?

    The activation problem is a little more complicated than you think, if you consider all possible situations.
    AFAIK grnxnm doesn't know FDISR. How can he understand this activation problem, if he doesn't know FDISR ?
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2007
  23. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    No Erik, I think I understand FDISR:D

    But a serious problem also can depend on it's frequency. For example the bug I found in the Microsoft routines are very serious, due to my playing, might be the only one out of millions of users to encounter it. I doubt if Microsoft would consider it "serious"

    Same way of all the users that use Shadowprotect or for that matter Office or any other product requiring activation, how many do you think use FDISR. Then out off all the FDISR users how many are using it the way you do. Yes inconvenent for you, but I doubt if any of the vendors would rate the problem serious.
     
  24. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    Not for me only, for ALL FDISR-users, I never consider software problems as personal. :)
     
  25. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

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    I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Obviously it would be different to me as an individual user as compared to StorageCraft which has other considerations predicated on its situation and scope of operations.

    Personally, I have removed FDISR completely several times, leaving the computer in a snapshot that didn't include a couple of programs that had activation (or re-activation) policies that required more effort than I had anticipated. I and my computer both survived the "trauma";) .

    I understand StorageCraft's position. I just need to evaluate my choices after I more fully understand the situation as it might apply to me in the future. NTL, I still support Erik's position and actions as to raising the issue with StorageCraft.

    Rob
     
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